List of Claxton Shield champions

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The Claxton Shield was the premier baseball competition in Australia, first held in 1934 and last held in 2010. The Claxton Shield is also the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team, and has also been awarded to winners of both the original Australian Baseball League (ABL) and the International Baseball League of Australia (IBLA).[1] The current version of the Australian Baseball League uses the Claxton Shield as its championship trophy in the same way as its predecessor of the same name did.[2]

Claxton Shield (Australian baseball trophy) displayed in August 2013 by the 2013 championship team, Canberra Cavalry
The Canberra Cavalry team celebrating with the Claxton Shield, after winning the 2012–13 ABL championship series

There had been interstate baseball tournaments held prior to the start of the Claxton Shield. The first was held in Hobart in 1910, won by New South Wales defeating Victoria and hosts Tasmania. New South Wales repeated the feat in 1912 in Melbourne when they won again, this time with the addition of South Australia.[3] None were held regularly though, and they did not always involve all baseball–playing states. In 1934 Norrie Claxton was the principal driver of an annual national competition, and donated the shield to be awarded to the champions. Though it was originally intended to be permanently held by the first team to win in three consecutive years, when South Australia won the first three tournaments[4][5][6] all participating states agreed that it should be a perpetual shield, and named it the Claxton Shield in honour of Norrie Claxton.[3]

The Victoria Aces were the last team to win the shield under the Claxton Shield format, having won the 2010 tournament by defeating South Australia two games to nil in the final series.[7] It was the eighteenth time the Aces had won the shield, and the twenty second time it had been won by a Victorian team—the most by any state—including three times by the Waverley / Melbourne Reds and once by the Melbourne Monarchs.[3] The Adelaide Giants currently hold the shield after overcoming the Perth Heat in the 2023–24 Australian Baseball League season. It was the Adelaide Giants first ABL title and seventeen time a South Australian team has won the Claxton Shield. Though city-based teams have competed for the Claxton Shield in some seasons, including under the current ABL format, the name engraved on the shield is that of the winning state; for the 2010–11 ABL season won by the Perth Heat, "West Australia 2011" was engraved.[8]

Champions

Claxton Shield

More information State Titles, Team Titles ...
Key
State
Titles
The number of championships won by that state at the time.
(Includes wins by ABL/IBLA teams from the same state.)
Team
Titles
The number of championships won by that team at the time.
(Treats ABL/IBLA teams as separate from the state teams.)
Denotes most championships by a team/state at the time.
Denotes tied for most championships by a team/state at the time.
*Denotes member of Baseball Australia Hall of Fame.
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More information Year, Champion Team ...
Year Champion Team State
Titles
Team
Titles
Final Host Helms Award Winner Ref
1934  South Australia 01 01 Adelaide, SA [4]
1935  South Australia 02 02 Melbourne, Vic [5]
1936  South Australia 03 03 Sydney, NSW [6]
1937  New South Wales 01 01 Adelaide, SA [9]
1938  New South Wales 02 02 Perth, WA [10]
1939  New South Wales 03 03 Melbourne, Vic [11]
1940No tournament held 1940–1945
1946  New South Wales 04 04 Sydney, NSW [12]
1947  Victoria 01 01 Adelaide, SA [13]
1948  Victoria 02 02 Perth, WA [14]
1949  Victoria 03 03 Melbourne, Vic [15]
1950  New South Wales 05 05 Sydney, NSW [16]
1951  New South Wales 06 06 Adelaide, SA [17]
1952  Western Australia 01 01 Perth, WA [18]
1953  New South Wales 07 07 Brisbane, Qld [19]
1954  Victoria 04 04 Melbourne, Vic [20]
1955  New South Wales 08 08 Sydney, NSW [21]
1956  Victoria 05 05 Adelaide, SA [21]
1957  South Australia 04 04 Perth, WA [21]
1958  Victoria 06 06 Brisbane, Qld [21]
1959  South Australia 05 05 Melbourne, Vic [21]
1960  South Australia 06 06 Sydney, NSW [21]
1961  South Australia 07 07 Adelaide, SA [21]
1962  Victoria 07 07 Perth, WA New South Wales Anthony Strand [21][22]
1963  New South Wales 09 09 Brisbane, Qld New South Wales Kevin Cantwell* [21][23]
1964  South Australia 08 08 Melbourne, Vic South Australia Adrian Pearce [21][22]
1965  Victoria 08 08 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Graham Deany* [21][23]
1966  South Australia 09 09 Adelaide, SA South Australia Kevin Greatrex* [23][24]
1967  South Australia 10 10 Perth, WA South Australia Garry Thompson [21][22]
1968  Victoria 09 09 Brisbane, Qld Victoria (state) John Swanson* [21][23]
1969  South Australia 11 11 Melbourne, Vic South Australia Neil Page* [21][23]
1970  South Australia 12 12 Sydney, NSW New South Wales Paul Russell [21][22]
1971  South Australia 13 13 Adelaide, SA Victoria (state) Ron McIver [21][22]
1972  Victoria 10 10 Brisbane, Qld Western Australia Don Knapp* [21][22]
1973  Victoria 11 11 Perth, WA South Australia David Mundy* [21][23]
1974  Victoria 12 12 Melbourne, Vic Victoria (state) Neil Buszard [21][22]
1975  Western Australia 02 02 Sydney, NSW Queensland Larry Home* [21][25]
1976  South Australia 14 14 Adelaide, SA Queensland Alan Albury* [26]
1977  Western Australia 03 03 Perth, WA Victoria (state) Ron Owens [21][22]
1978  Western Australia 04 04 Brisbane, Qld Western Australia Ray Michell* [21][23]
1979  Western Australia 05 05 Melbourne, Vic Victoria (state) Brian Wonnacott [21][27]
1980  South Australia 15 15 Sydney, NSW South Australia John Galloway [28]
1981  Victoria 13 13 Adelaide, SA Victoria (state) John Hodges [29][30]
1982  Queensland 01 01 Sydney, NSW Queensland Geoff Martin [21][22]
1983  Queensland 02 02 Perth, WA Western Australia Doug Mateljan* [21][22]
1984  Victoria 14 14 Brisbane, Qld Victoria (state) Brett Ward [31][32]
1985  Western Australia 06 06 Brisbane, Qld Western Australia Tony Stall [22][33]
1986  Victoria 15 15 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Lindsay Orford [21][22]
1987  Queensland 03 03 Brisbane, Qld Queensland Dave Nilsson* [34][35]
1988  Queensland 04 04 Brisbane, Qld Western Australia Tony Adamson* [22][36]
1989  New South Wales 010 010 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Richard Vagg [22][36]
1989Replaced by ABL & IBLA 1989–2002
2003 Queensland Queensland Rams 08 05 Sydney, NSW New South Wales Craig Lewis [22][37]
2004 New South Wales New South Wales Patriots 12 11 Sydney, NSW Queensland Brett Roneberg [38][39]
2005 New South Wales New South Wales Patriots 13 12 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Brad Harman [40]
2006 Queensland Queensland Rams 09 06 Sydney, NSW Queensland Brad Dutton [39][41]
2007 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 21 16 Perth, WA Victoria (state) Matthew Kent [42][43]
2008 Western Australia Perth Heat 10 07 Sydney, NSW Western Australia Clint Balgera [22][44]
2009 Western Australia Perth Heat 11 08 Perth, WA Western Australia Nick Kimpton [45][46]
2010 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 22 17 Melbourne, Vic New South Wales Wayne Lundgren [47][48]
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Australian Baseball League (1989–1999)

More information Season, Champion Team ...
Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles
State
Titles
League MVP Ref
1989–90 Victoria (state) Waverley Reds 3–1 Victoria (state) Melbourne Monarchs 01 16 Victoria (state) Phil Dale (WR) [49]
1990–91 Western Australia Perth Heat 3–2 Queensland Daikyo Dolphins 01 07 Queensland David Nilsson (DD) [50]
1991–92 Queensland Daikyo Dolphins 3–1 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 05 Queensland Adrian Meagher (DD) [51]
1992–93 Victoria (state) Melbourne Monarchs 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 17 United States Kevin Jordan (BB) [52]
1993–94 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 New South Wales Sydney Blues 01 06 United States Homer Bush (BB) [53]
1994–95 Victoria (state) Waverley Reds 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 02 18 Western Australia Scott Metcalf (PH) [54]
1995–96 New South Wales Sydney Blues 2–0 Victoria (state) Melbourne Reds 01 11 New South Wales Gary White (SB) [55]
1996–97 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 02 08 South Australia Andrew Scott (AG) [56]
1997–98 Victoria (state) Melbourne Reds 2–0 Queensland Gold Coast Cougars 03 19 New South Wales Brendan Kingman (SS) [57]
1998–99 Queensland Gold Coast Cougars 2–0 New South Wales Sydney Storm 02 07 Victoria (state) Adam Burton (MR) [58]
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International Baseball League of Australia

More information Season, Champion Team ...
Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles
State
Titles
Helms Award Winner Ref
1999–2000 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Queensland Queensland Rams 01 09 New South Wales Chris Snelling [1][22]
2002 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 1–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 20 New South Wales Rodney van Buizen [1][22]
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Australian Baseball League (2010–present)

More information Season, Champion Team ...
Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles
State
Titles
Helms Award Winner Ref
2010–11 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01 12 United States James McOwen (ADE) [59][60]
2011–12 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 02 13 Western Australia Tim Kennelly (PER) [61][62]
2012–13 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 01 United States Adam Buschini (CAN) [63]
2013–14 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 03 14 United States Ryan Casteel (MEL) [64]
2014–15 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 South Australia Adelaide Bite 04 15 United States Aaron Miller (ADE)  
2015–16 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01 10 United States Justin Williams (BRI) [65]
2016–17 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 02 11 Queensland Aaron Whitefield (BRI) [66]
2017–18 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–1 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 03 12 United States Jake Fraley (PER) [67]
2018–19 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 04 13 Western Australia Tim Kennelly (PER)

Germany Marcus Solbach (ADE)

 
2019–20 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 2–0 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01 23
2020–21 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 1–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 02 24
2021–22 Season cancelled due to COVID-19
2022–23 South Australia Adelaide Giants 2–1 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 16 Alex Hall (PER)  
2023- 24 Adelaide Giants 2-1 Perth Heat 2 17 Lachlan Wells (ADE)
2024-25 Canberra Cavalry 2-0 Perth Heat 2 2 Alexander Wells (SYD)
2025-26 Adelaide Giants 2-1 Sydney Blue Sox 3 18 Devin Saltiban (ADL)
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Championships by state

More information Rank, State ...
Rank State Titles Most Recent Tournaments Contested
1st  Victoria 24 2019–20 78
2nd  South Australia 18 2025-26 78
3rd  Western Australia 15 2014–15 73
=4th  Queensland 13 2018-19 68
=4th  New South Wales 13 2005 75
6th  Australian Capital Territory 2 2024-25 18
=7th  Northern Territory 0 8
=7th New Zealand 0 2
"Titles" includes seasons of the ABL & IBLA.
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See also

References

Bibliography

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